Fantastic Four Annual Vol 1 25
| NextIssue = | Editor-in-Chief = Tom DeFalco | CoverArtist1 = Herb Trimpe | Quotation = | Speaker = | StoryTitle1 = Citizen Kang, Part 3: Twice Upon a Time | Synopsis1 = Citizen Kang continues from ... Johnny Storm is out flying over New York City, feeling somewhat guilty for blowing off some steam in the event his teammates need him. Suddenly, Johnny spots the Fanatasti-Flare and goes to its location. However instead of one of the other members of the Fantastic Four he finds Doctor Druid who has come seeking the Fantastic Four's help to stop Kang the Conqueror. Not trusting Druid, Johnny surrounds him in a wall of flame. They are suddenly interrupted by a woman Druid calls the Temptress, whom Johnny previously remembered as Nebula, the woman who possessed his mind and he fell madly in love with, even thought he was married at the time. Suddenly they are interrupted by the arrival of the rest of the Fantastic Four, who demand some answers from Druid about what is going on. Dr. Druid recounts how when he was a member of the Avengers he was entranced by the Temptress -- while she was posing as Nebula -- to betray his teammates. Meanwhile, the Temptress was also manipulating and murdering her way through the ranks of the Council of Cross-Time Kangs for information regarding a powerful weapon located in the Time Bubble some 20 years in the future. Their attempts failed, and both the Temptress and Druid were trapped in the Time Bubble. That was until the Fantastic Four arrived to investigate it sometime later. Although the Temptress managed to enthrall both Johnny and Sue, the Fantastic Four managed to destroy the Time Bubble and the weapon that "Nebula" sought to obtain. However the Temptress and Druid were not destroyed, they ended up in an alternate past where the Temptress ran amok with the secrets of anti-time. Druid defeated her, and she was seemingly slain, until recently when the Temptress revealed that she was still alive after Druid's return to the modern age, coming with dire warnings about Kang the Conqueror. With the tale all told, the Fantastic Four agree to help the couple defeat Kang. Soon they are off in the Time-Sled Rosebud III. Meanwhile at that very moment, the Avengers have called an emergency meeting to discuss the recent disappearances of the Vision, Captain America and Thor, which all occurred after the Vision went to investigate his mechanical ties to the town of Timely, Wisconsin. The Black Widow reports that the town was founded in the 1900s and it's primary export is technology through Timely Industries. Deciding that they should investigate the town for any strange happenings, the Avengers soon take off in a Quinjet en route for Timely. Meanwhile, the Temptress has led the Fantastic Four and Dr. Druid to the very same town. Upon their arrival, the Temptress informs the group that the portal to the citadel of Kang is hidden behind a billboard sign on the side of a building. Although they have their misgivings, the Fantastic Four fly forward full speed ahead, and pierce the barrier, ending up in the realm of Chronopolis, a domain that touches every point in history. The Temptress then helps steer the Fantastic Four through the various time barriers to get them closer to their destination. While back on modern day Earth, the Avengers arrive in Timely where their scanners detect the portal to Chronopolis. Suspecting this is where their allies may have gone, they fly the Quinjet into the portal as well. Meanwhile, on the other side, the Fantastic Four and their uneasy allies are forced to jump the Rosebud III when it is about to be caught in the maw of some massive machine. Landing on the streets of what appears to be a section of Manhattan, the group is suddenly attacked by an army of Punishers from the 31st Century. The Fantastic Four make short work of their attackers when suddenly the Avengers arrive. Seeing this as a perfect opportunity to break away from the heroes and get to Kang first, the Temptress transforms herself to appear as Nebula. This causes the Avengers to believe that the Fantastic Four are being manipulated by their old foe, leading to a battle between the two groups. When Dr. Druid finally realizes what is going on, he calls the heroes' attention to the fact that during their haste to battle the Temptress has managed to escape. Before they can continue after her, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers are suddenly confronted by the Anachonauts, agents of Kang who hale from different points in history. Citizen Kang continues in .... | Writer1_1 = Mark Gruenwald | Penciler1_1 = Herb Trimpe | Inker1_1 = Brad Vancata | Colourist1_1 = Gina Going | Letterer1_1 = Janice Chiang | Editor1_1 = Ralph Macchio | Appearing1 = Featured Characters: * ** ** ** }} ** Supporting Characters: * * * ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** Antagonists: * ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** * Other Characters: * ** Unnamed Kang * * Races and Species: * Locations: * ** *** **** ***** ****** ******* Midtown ******** ********* ******** ********* ***** ****** ******* Timely Industries * ** * Items: * and Vehicles: * * | StoryTitle2 = The Top Ten Villains of the Fantastic Four | Synopsis2 = Franklin Richards interrupts his father Mister Fantastic as he is going through the Fantastic Four's database compiling information on the group's top ten most deadly villains. Reed and Franklin go over the profiles on the Puppet Master, Mole Man, Psycho-Man, the Frightful Four, the Molecule Man, Annihilus, the Mad Thinker, the Skrulls, Galactus and Doctor Doom. After going through the files, Reed tells his son that he shouldn't be afraid of these enemies. Franklin assures his father that he is not afraid, pointing out that the Fantastic Four defeated all these foes before, and will be able to do so again. | Writer2_1 = George Caragonne | Penciler2_1 = Larry Alexander | Inker2_1 = Larry Alexander | Colourist2_1 = Scott Marshall | Letterer2_1 = Steve Dutro | Editor2_1 = Ralph Macchio | Appearing2 = Featured Characters: * * Supporting Characters: * Antagonists: * * * * ** ** ** ** * * * ** * * * Other Characters: * Races and Species: * Locations: * ** *** **** ***** ****** Midtown ******* ******** Items: * Vehicles: * | StoryTitle3 = This Monster! | Synopsis3 = Walking through the Four Freedoms Plaza, the Thing comes across a mirror put up in the hallway. Ben stops to look in the mirror, getting upset by the appearance looking back at him. Suddenly, Ben is interrupted by the arrival of Franklin who wants his Uncle Ben to come play his new video game with him. Ben begins to play the game with Franklin, but remarks over how violent and bloody the game is. Also, Ben is not very good considering the fact that his hands are much too big for the controllers. The game abruptly ends when Ben accidentally breaks the controller in two while struggling with it. Ben apologizes to Franklin and meekly leaves the room. Ben returns to the hallway and the mirror where he loses his temper over his appearance and smashes the mirror into pieces. Franklin comes running into the room to see what's wrong, and suggests that instead of playing video games they play football instead. When Ben asks Franklin if he's not mad at him for wrecking his game, Franklin surprises the Thing by saying he's not happy about it but he still loves his Uncle Ben no matter what. Touched by this, Ben picks up his godson and carries him outside to toss around the football. | Writer3_1 = Tom DeFalco | Penciler3_1 = Kirk Jarvinen | Inker3_1 = Brad Vancata | Colourist3_1 = Brad Vancata | Letterer3_1 = Jon Babcock | Editor3_1 = Ralph Macchio | Appearing3 = Featured Characters: * * Supporting Characters: * Antagonists: * Other Characters: * Races and Species: * Locations: * ** *** **** ***** ****** Midtown ******* ******** Items: * Vehicles: * | StoryTitle4 = Duel of Pride | Synopsis4 = Seeking to prove that she is the superior priestess Moondragon uses her Mind Gem to seek out the mind of Mantis, her successor as the Celestial Madonna. She contacts her mind in the astral realm of the Cotati, where Mantis is preparing to fight to get her son back after the aliens took him away. When Moondragon reaches out to her, Mantis asks for her help in the coming battle. Moondragon agrees to help Mantis, provided that she can best her in a one-on-one battle. Mantis agrees to the duel, and Moondragon uses her Mind Gem to resurrect Mantis aboard her ship. The two fight out to prove who is the better warrior, and after a long term battle without any enhancements, Moondragon proves to be the superior, knocking Mantis out in a Mantis Death Grip. Awakening after the battle, Mantis learns that she lost the bout. Accepting her defeat, Mantis gets up to resume her quest against the Cotati alone, but Moondragon offers her aid none-the-less. Mantis refuses, telling Moondragon that the defeat taught her a lot about her own pride, and where Mantis goes now, she goes alone. | Writer4_1 = Sonja Ratcliffe | Penciler4_1 = Herb Trimpe | Inker4_1 = Charles Barnett | Colourist4_1 = Gina Going | Letterer4_1 = Janice Chiang | Editor4_1 = Ralph Macchio | Appearing4 = Featured Characters: * * Supporting Characters: * Antagonists: * Other Characters: * Races and Species: * Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * Spaceship | StoryTitle5 = A Hall of Mirrors | Synopsis5 = Within his headquarters in Chronopolis, Kang continue his review of his past exploits through time and space.... Kang recounts how he once tried to use the Hulk to kill his ancestor who fought in World War I, thus erasing Bruce Banner from history and preventing the Avengers from forming. This turned out to be a bust when the Hulk destroyed a German cannon, Kang was then lost in the time stream, but he abandoned his body at that moment. Kang later captured the Avengers along with fellow time traveler Zarrko the Tomorrow Man, leading to a battle between Iron Man and Spider-Man. With his foes defeated, Kang betrayed Zarrko, but Spider-Man eventually returned with the Inhumans as reinforcements who then freed the Avengers. With is plans thwarted, Kang escaped, leaving an empty suit of armor for the heroes to ponder over. During the time of the Celestial Madonna, Kang attacked the Avengers to capture the three women who could possible be the Madonna: Mantis, the Scarlet Witch, and Agatha Harkness. He absconded with the three women to his hideout in Egypt. There he was followed by the Avengers who had the unforeseen help of Kang's older self who was back in his Rama-Tut disguise. During the ensuing battle, they discovered that Mantis was the Celestial Madonna, but both Kang and Rama-Tut were lost in the time stream during the ensuing battle. Kang and Tut were pulled out of time and brought to Limbo by a seeming ally calling himself Immortus. Immortus provided Kang with a device that allowed him to pull various super-humans out of other time periods just moments before their deaths to form his Legion of the Unliving to fight against the Avengers. Kang later betrayed Immortus but he was eventually defeated by the Avengers and forced to flee again. Monitoring from afar, Kang was shocked to see that Immortus was also an ally of the Avengers. Kang later tried to prevent Mantis from marrying a member of the Cotati, however when he thought he captured Mantis, it turned out to be a Space Phantom, foiling Kang's plans. Later, Kang tried to conquer the present by taking over the 19th Century circa the year 1873. He was stopped again by the time travelling Avengers and his body destroyed again. However his mind endured, and Kang was eventually gathered among other super-villains by the Beyonder to battle in the Secret Wars. When Dr. Doom refused to lead them, Kang tried to slay him but failed. In retaliation, Doom reprogrammed the robot Ultron and had it slay Kang as its first order of duty. However, Kang managed to cheat death once again. Seeking a final showdown against Immortus, Kang traveled to Limbo once again and found what appeared to be Immortus' aged skeleton. Doing research with the machines he found there, Kang rescued Ravonna, plucking her out of time before Boltag could kill her. He soon realized that all his time travels led to the creation of alternate realities and alternate Kangs, some became unworthy of the title Kang. As such, Kang gathered the "Council of Kangs (Multiverse)", comprising of alternate reality versions of himself that intended to destroy all the embarrassing versions of Kang out there. Ultimately, Kang attempted to betray his fellow Council members, killing them all despite interference from the Avengers. This all turned out to be a massive ploy by Immortus to gather all the minds of the alternate Kangs into a single globe of collective knowledge and memories. Kang finishes his recollections wondering who Immortus is, what his allegiances are and why he took his beloved Ravonna away from him. Kang remarks how he has nothing but power, and he will seek to gain even more, because the only feeling he now has left is hatred. | Writer5_1 = Peter Sanderson | Penciler5_1 = Rich Yanizeski | Inker5_1 = Ray Kryssing | Colourist5_1 = Scott Marshall | Letterer5_1 = Dave Sharpe | Editor5_1 = Ralph Macchio | Appearing5 = Featured Characters: * Other Characters: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Locations: * * * * ** *** * * * * * ** * Items: * * * & * * * * Globe Vehicles: * | Notes = Continuity Notes Twice Upon a Time... * All references to the modern age as taking place in the 20th Century should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. By the nature of the Timescale, the earliest point of of the Modern Age ( ) no longer occurred in the 20th Century once present day publications began in the year 2015. * As this story takes place after the Infinity War event, Sue is still possessed by her Malice persona which she merged with in . Malice remains part of Sue's personality until it's expunged from her mind in . * The Fantastic Four appear here following their appearance in . * Dr. Druid and the Temptress were last seen in . * Dr. Druid goes over his recent history with Nebula/The Temptress: ** Druid joined the Avengers back in . ** He was later enthralled by the Temptress between - . Including her time posing as Nebula ( ) to gain access to the Time-Bubble, leading to both Druid and the Temptress being trapped in it ( ). ** The Temptress then attempted to manipulate the Fantastic Four during their own mission into the Time-Bubble circa - , ending in her and Druid's seeming destruction. ** Druid and the Temptress' battle over the secret of Anti-Time happened in ** Unknown to all, and revealed in , the Temptress is really Kang's long lost lover Ravonna Renslayer. She was who was put in a death like coma in . She was later revived by the Grandmaster, as seen in , after Kang gave up the power to save her life to instead try to destroy the Avengers (as seen in ). When the Grandmaster revealed the truth, Ravonna decided to get revenge against her lover, developing the Nebula cover to infiltrate the Cross-Time Kangs and get her revenge. * The Rosebud III is an upgrade of the original Time-Sled first seen in and destroyed in . The Rosebud III doesn't last past this issue, but Reed constructs a new one, as another Time-Sled is seen in . * The Avenger's briefing goes over the disappearance of both the Vision and Captain America, which happened in and the disappearance of Thor in . All three heroes were captured by Kang in those stories. * As the history of Kang back-up story in reveals, Timely Wisconsin was founded by Kang the Conqueror as a beachhead in the modern age, and as a connection to Chronopolis. * The Punishers seen here are members of the same gang seen in the 31st Century of Earth-691 who were first introduced in . * The Black Knight remembers "Nebula" as he was a member of the Avengers during the period of - . * Crystal suggests that Johnny is still bitter about the fact that she married another man. Johnny and Crystal have a long history together: ** They dated between - until the outside world's pollution forced her to return home to Attilan. ** Crystal ended up rescuing Quicksilver along the way and the two fell in love as seen in - . Crystal and Quicksilver later got married in . Johnny had a series of failed relationships while Ben and Alicia remained together over the years. ** When most of the Fantastic Four were among those kidnapped by the Beyonder to battle in the first Secret Wars on Battleworld, Ben discovered he could change back and forth and believe it was because of Battleworld itself. He decided to stay there in . ** Ben remained in Battleworld between - where he eventually lost his ability to change back into Ben Grimm and returned to Earth. ** While the heroes were gone, Ben's long time girlfriend Alicia Masters was replaced by Lyja a Skrull spy, as revealed in . When Johnny returned to Earth, she pursued a relationship with him in order to maintain ties with the Fantastic Four while the Thing was gone. ** Johnny recently married "Alicia" in ** Meanwhile, Crystal had and affair with Norm Webster and was eventually caught during the events of through . ** Reed elected Ben to replace him as leader of the Fantastic Four in Ben then asked Crystal to join the Fantastic Four . ** Johnny went so far as to accuse Crystal of trying to break up his marriage in . ** Tensions between Crystal and Johnny rose between - as they both realized they had feelings for one another. However Crystal was summoned back to Attilan in where she attempted to reconcile with her husband. ** More recently, Johnny discovered that his marriage was a sham and Lyja seemingly perished on a mission to rescue the real Alicia Masters in . ** Crystal, at the time of this writing, is estranged from her husband again after she joined the Avengers in and Quicksilver joined the government run X-Factor in . * All the characters present in this story are next seen in Top Ten Villains of the Fantastic Four * This story takes place after the events of . Reed appears here between his appearances in and . * This story states that the Mole Man's real name is unknown. The Mole Man's real name was not revealed until . * The version of the Frightful Four depicted in the Fantastic Four's database is the original team which consisted of the Wizard, Sandman, Trapster and Medusa which first formed in . The three male members have been recurring members of the group, while Medusa quit in / . It also mentions the following later members: ** Thundra who joined in and quit in after the events of . ** The Brute who joined in until the group's defeat in . ** Electro who briefly was a member of the group in and ** Lastly it mentions Llyra who was briefly a member in - . ** This story omits mention to Hydro-Man, Titani and Klaw who were members of the Frightful Four from - . ** This story also does not mention other members who were part of the Frightful Four at other points in the past that were later revealed in various flashback stories that were published after this story. These omissions are: The Beetle as seen in the flashback from , Blastaar who joined in - . Both joined between the time Medusa left and Thundra replaced her. Additionally Taskmaster, Constrictor and Deadpool were also brief members as seen in the flashback from , which occurred between Llyra and Hydro-Man/Titania/Klaw's memberships with the group. This Monster! * This story takes place prior to the events of , Ben appears here between his appearances in and . Duel of Pride! * Moondragon appears here following the events of and appears next in . * Mantis was last seen in where she allowed herself to physically die in order to continue her hunt for the Cotati and rescue her son. Following her appearance here she is seen next in . * Mantis and Moondragon have intertwined histories as follows: ** Both women were selected to be potential candidates for the Celestial Madonna. Moondragon was trained by the Eternals of Titan as depicted in . While Mantis was trained by the Kree Priests of Pama on Earth as revealed in - . ** Their roles as potential Celestial Madonnas were revealed in , but it was at that point where Mantis succeeded her as the Celestial Madonna. ** As later revealed in , Mantis gave birth to her child and the Cotati allowed her to raise the child for a year before taking it away from her. A Hall of Mirrors * On the monitors at the start of this story, Kang is reviewing the following previous conflicts: ** His battle with the Fantastic Four as Rama-Tut from . ** His battle with the Swordsman from ** An unidentified instant where he countered both the Thing and Doctor Doom (this could either be a reference to or - ) ** His encounter with Captain America's Avengers team from - . ** Kang's time as the Scarlet Centurion in . ** When he attempt to kidnap Mantis, likely from . * Although not implicitly stated here, as revealed in , ever time Kang's physical body died, his mind was transferred to a new body in his native timeline. * The following recollections by Kang were not actually the workings of the "Prime" Kang, but his divergents, as revealed in : ** Kang's recollection of his battle against the Hulk during World War I was seen in . ** Kang's team up with Zarrko the Tomorrow Man circa - . ** Likewise the Kang who went after the Celestial Madonna in - and - . ** Lastly the Kang who battled the Avengers during the days of the American Frontier in - . * Kang's time during the Secret Wars is chronicled in - ). Although he neglects to mention it was Doctor Doom who resurrected him in . * The Kang who ends up in Limbo, gathers the Council of Kangs (Multiverse) and gets betrayed by Immortus and Ravonna to the Avengers occurred in - . Incidentally enough this is where Kang learns that Immortus is his future self, yet in this story he has no memory of learning this. What this story also omits is that the Psycho-Globe that Kang obtained from Immortus also contained all the memories of his divergent selves. states that all the Kang that ends up in Limbo is the "Prime Kang" who was last seen when he was defeated by Thor back in . Continuity Errors Twice Upon a Time... * When the Temptress assumes the form of Nebula that Johnny recalls, her skin is Caucasian in color. However when she appeared in - and other stories, she was always depicted as having blue skin. * The Avengers monitors that depict their missing members show the wrong versions of both the Vision and Thor. The Vision is depicted here in his red and green form. At the time of this story, the Vision had been rebuilt in an all-white body as seen in . The version of Thor seen here is Thor Odinson, who at the time of this story was deeply submerged in the mind of his human host Eric Masterson since . * The Four Freedoms Plaza is revealed to be intact. However this story happens after the events of the Infinity War when the Four Freedoms Plaza's upper levels were destroyed by a gamma bomb as seen in / . | Trivia = | Recommended = | Links = }}